Thursday Nights with Nate
by supergirlscafe
Summary: Thursday was her favorite night of the week, even trumping Saturday & it's giggly, drunken makeout sessions. A Jenny/Nate written for perfervidheart in Gossip Girl Fic Exchange.


Thursdays with Nate

_Good morning Upper East __Siders_

_If you're conscious in this town, you must have heard: Queen B has been officially dethroned. __But to who?_

_H has been acting the new queen so far, but we all see her dependency on __Little__ J for power. Is Little J working behind the scenes?_

_We know this at least: Queen B would never have let a sidekick have as much public power as __Little__ J has. We wouldn't put our money on H lasting more than a month at the top!_

_We'll keep you posted._

_XOXO_

_Gossip Girl_

_--_JN--

Jenny sits on the empty steps of the Met at dusk on Friday, watching the people of New York City buzz and race on the sidewalks, passing her by. She cautiously eyes the spot on the steps where Blair Waldorf sat only three days ago holding court among the girls of Constance Billiards. Blair had been sitting there not ten minutes when her dutiful and loyal boyfriend, Nate Archibald, had come over to bring her a sugar-free coffee and kiss her on the lips.

Jenny sighs briefly, recollecting. A pang of jealousy had shot through her as Nate kissed Blair. She had thought, after Blair's birthday party, that there was a chance that Nate had been interested in her. She had been shocked a few days later to see Blair back on Nate's arm.

But now Blair has been dealt a much harsher blow than a simple no-show at a party. Every social ally has rejected her. Yesterday and today she spent lunch on a bench behind the school, far away from the Met. Blair has officially been dethroned.

Jenny had liked, even admired Blair Waldorf. Jenny had envied everything Blair had. Now, Jenny realizes, she has taken all of Blair's social status. Jenny wonders if she can ever have everything that Blair did. Jenny's mind flashes to Nate's handsome face briefly. She wonders if she can have him too.

--JN--

Jenny spends her Saturday at the New York Public Library working on her culminating project for the first semester of her history class. At the same time she knows the rest of her high school is shopping at Barney's, she is taking down notes on the Crimean Wars. Jenny knows that keeping her grades up is the price of being a scholarship student at the most prestigious school on the Upper East Side, but she is still bitter.

Around four in the afternoon Jenny's phone buzzes in her purse. The quiet sound breaks the silence in the nearly-empty reading room and startles Jenny so much she almost drops the book she is holding. She sets the encyclopedia down on the table and fumbles in her bag to grab the phone.

She opens it automatically. "Hello?"

"Hey, Jenny," Hazel's voice oozes with false charm and real bravado. "What are you doing right now?"

Jenny hesitates. Not about lying, but about what to say. If she says she is at home, Hazel will ask her where she lives. But if she says she is out shopping at, say, Bloomingdale's, Hazel will ask to meet her there. "Doing research for a school project," Jenny finally says truthfully.

"Ew!" Hazel says dismissively. "Why?"

Jenny knows that the question is rhetorical so she says neutrally, "My parents are really getting on my back about my grades lately."

"Ugh! I know, mine too," Hazel replies flippantly. "Anyway, come over to my apartment now."

Jenny pauses fractionally.

Hazel, sensing the hesitation, clarifies her demand. "We have to get ready and plan for tonight. The girls are getting together for drinks at The Palace hotel. You're coming, aren't you?"

The question is actually a request. Jenny knows that now her social life has to be more important than her grades. Staying at Constance Billiards is worthless if Jenny can't keep her high social standing. "I'll be right over," Jenny assures Hazel.

--JN--

Hazel outfits Jenny with designer goods and fixes up her hair and makeup. As Hazel's new accessory, Jenny has to look perfect, but not as good as Hazel.

Jenny and Hazel compare their reflections in the mirror. While Jenny nervously pulls down the hemline of her skirt, Hazel tugs down the plunging neckline on her own dress to show more of her chest.

As Hazel carefully lines her own eyes with metallic gold liner, she explains to Jenny the dynamics of the group meeting that night. New girls, girls that had been lower in the hierarchy during Blair's reign, have been elevated to higher positions. These girls had been previously nameless to Jenny, as Jenny had ignored the lower ranks and attempted to gain favor with Blair, but now they seem to be more important players: Marcia, Eleanor, and Alexandra. Kati and Iz, formerly second only to Blair herself in power and influence at Constance, have been kept in the clique for their connections but demoted to the lower ranks for their loyalty to Blair.

The girls are waiting at The Palace bar when Jenny and Hazel arrive. The girls proffer greetings and gossip. Hazel and Jenny are quickly filled in on the goings-on of the weekend so far. Reputations are trashed and scandals are used as conversation pieces as they chatter. Jenny trains her mind to take mental notes on each of the people mentioned.

Information is currency on the Upper East Side, especially with Gossip Girl hanging around.

--JN--

The gossip-fest wraps up by ten pm and Jenny begins to rummage in her purse for her subway pass.

Hazel looks at Jenny strangely. "What in the world are you doing?"

Jenny replies, bewildered, "Just finding my stuff, you know, to go home."

The girls all snicker.

"Oh, Little J," Hazel squeezes out through her laughter. "It's not time to go home yet."

--JN--

The girls share two taxis to a townhouse on the Upper East Side. The townhouse is the home of a senior boy at St. Jude's named Jared Vanderbilt, they explain to Jenny. Jenny nods knowingly as if the name means something to her, although she has never even heard of Jared.

The seven girls make a dramatic appearance at the party. Heads turn to stare at and greet the Queen Bee and her entourage. Jenny shares the spotlight with Hazel, both of them being offered drinks and pleasantries by all.

As Jared leers and welcomes Jenny and Hazel to the party, Jenny notices Jared's friends idling nearby. She scans the group and her eyes catch on Nate Archibald's. She waves, a little, and Nate smiles back. The moment ends when Hazel puts her arm around Jenny and steers her towards a group of people across the room, away from Nate.

"Little J, there are some people I'd like you to meet," Hazel says, unaware of Jenny's annoyance. Hazel lowers her voice so only Jenny can hear, "Trust me, you'll have fun. Just follow my lead, okay?"

The rest of the party is a pleasant blur of dancing and alcohol. Jenny's night ends with a drunken call to her father, at Hazel's request, asking permission to stay over at her friend Hazel's house "for a leetle sssshleepover." When she falls asleep, she isn't sure where she is anymore.

--JN--

Morning light shines in through the gauzy curtains of the Palace hotel's penthouse, where Serena van der Woodsen currently resides. A golden beam illuminates on Jenny's blonde hair, sprawled in a halo on the guest room's pillows.

Suddenly Jenny bolts up, clutching her stomach. Bent nearly in half, she scrambles to the adjoining bathroom, making no notice of the lack of familiarity in her surroundings. Her stomach heaves and lurches and she spends the next fifteen minutes retching into the toilet.

She totters out and collapses on the bed. She peers over at the digital clock. The neon numbers read "10:45." Jenny's muddled brain tries to ponder what that means when it is distracted by the sound of footsteps outside of her door.

A slight knock is heard and Serena pokes her head in. "Oh good, you're awake. I thought I heard you."

Serena opened the door and let herself in, closing the door behind her.

Jenny looks bemusedly at Serena. "Why…why am I here?" she questions.

Serena perches on the edge of the bed. "Nate called me."

Jenny furrows her brow in confusion. She can't tell what Serena is thinking.

"He said you needed some help," Serena clarifies, her expression blank. "When I got there he said that Hazel had gotten you really, really drunk."

"Couldn't he have just put me in a taxi home?" Jenny asks. "I mean, no offense, but I feel bad that I had to crash at your place."

Serena sighs. "Apparently Hazel had found some 'suitable' guys and kept insisting that you were to come back to her apartment with her for a little 'fun.' Nate was arguing with her when I got there, trying to convince her that she should leave you out of it."

Jenny shudders visibly. "Ugh. I'm glad that you came." She straightens up for a second. "Hey, can you do me a favor?" Jenny sees Serena's eyebrows rise. "Can you…not tell Dan about this?"

Serena looks unhappy. "I guess, Jenny."

"Oh my goodness, thank you so much," Jenny exhales. "I just don't want him to get all crazy-brotherly and try to beat up Hazel or something."

"Yeah, we wouldn't want that."

"I mean, Hazel's a really nice girl," Jenny attempts to convince Serena. "She probably just had a little too much to drink."

Serena purses her lips. "Look, Jenny, the only reason that I brought you back here is because your Dan's little sister. After what Hazel did to Blair, and what you did to Blair, for that matter, I really shouldn't be helping you out at all."

Jenny looks abashed. "Serena, you know it wasn't about Blair. Besides, you know Blair treated me like crap for weeks, and-"

"Save it, Jenny," Serena cuts her off. Jenny is shocked at the new side of Serena she is seeing. Before, Serena had always been a little big sisterly to Jenny. Now, Jenny realizes, she is seeing Serena as the rest of the world does. "I don't really care what you have to say. I only did this as a favor for Nate, and for Dan. Because I love them. You? You're nothing but a cheap, shallow, naive version of Blair. You'll never be as good as her, and everybody will always know that."

Serena gets off the bed, leaves the bedroom, and leads Jenny to the door of the suite. "I assume you know the way home."

Jenny barely registers the door slamming in her face, despite her massive hangover. Her mind is still stuck on the fact that Nate cared enough to rescue her.

--JN--

_Spotted: Half of Constance Billiards' School for Girls and St. Jude's School for Boys drunk off their ass __at Jared Vanderb__ilt's lovely home._

_Of particular note?__S reluctantly taking a wobbly Little J home.__ A smashed H hitting on every boy in the room before__, rumor has it, taking more than one boy to bed. __Any news as to their identity?_

_I'll be waiting…_

--JN--

Jenny doesn't see Nate again until Monday, spending her Sunday doing the work she abandoned the previous day. She passes him in the school courtyard, but he doesn't speak to her until that afternoon. Jenny is sitting in Central Park on a bench, puzzling over her math problem set. Her pencil scratches absentmindedly against her paper as she gazes off.

Suddenly, a shadow falls over her vision. She looks up to see Nate's amused face.

"Hey there," Nate says amiably, easily. "Can I sit down?"

Jenny doesn't have a chance to respond before he sets his backpack down on the pavement and reclines on the metal-frame bench. "Sure," Jenny stutters out. "That's cool."

Nate shades his eyes with his hand as he looks around. "Nice day today, huh," he comments casually. "It makes up for the cold."

"Yeah," Jenny smiles, "But I think I'd still prefer some warmth."

Nate raises a friendly eyebrow. "I bet you won't be saying that when it's pouring down summer rain."

Jenny laughs timidly. Nate laughs too, the truest sound she's ever heard from him. Her grin widens.

"So, you get home all right on Saturday?" Nate remarks as if he was still talking about the weather. "I figured Serena'd take care of you, but when she called to bitch me out the next day to remind me that Blair hated you, I wasn't so sure what she did with you."

Jenny shrugs. "She was nice. Let me sleep it off. I guess I'm still Dan's sister, even if Blair does hate me."

Nate shakes his head. "Don't take it personally with Blair. She hates, like, a ton of people. I can't-couldn't-even keep track," he corrects himself. "Thank God it doesn't matter anymore."

Jenny looks at him sideways. "Do you miss her?" She asks nervously.

Nate lifts his hands, wavers, and brings them back down. "I think I should miss her, at least. We'd been together for so long it's a little weird to not even worry about how she is anymore. I mean, even when we broke up I still thought about what she was doing, what she might be thinking. It was just sort of habit. Now…" he pauses, thinking. "I guess I just have less stuff to do, now that attending her isn't my full-time job."

Jenny waits, wondering anxiously what he will say. She isn't even sure she wants to know. Her right hand, still holding her pencil, doodles aimlessly.

"I mean," Nate continues. "We were growing apart. I wasn't even surprised when you told me she was with Chuck, you know? I mean, they spent way more time together than she and I ever did. They always had more in common." He notices Jenny's surprised face and explains, "You know, the whole poor-little-rich-child conquering the world thing. Both of them had kind of jackass dads and both of them loved to plot to take down people socially anyway. I figure it's just kind of karma for them now."

Jenny grins, a little more relaxed now.

"I'm not even angry," Nate concludes. "It's just…it kind of sucks that she was with Chuck, because now I can't hang out with my best friend. I mean, whatever, Chuck screwed Blair. It wasn't like I didn't see it coming. But because not even he believes that I don't care, I basically lost my best friend over something I don't actually care about."

Nate pauses, trying to figure out what he just said.

"Did any of that even make sense?" Nate asks Jenny, who shrugs. "Whatever," he says, stretching. "It's done."

Jenny looks at Nate square on, trying not to be distracted by the curve of his lip and instead focusing on trying to be a good friend. "So what are you going to do?"

"What I always do." When Jenny doesn't comprehend, he makes a 'duh' face. "I do nothing."

Jenny looks down, worried that he is angry, but happy when he tips her chin up with his finger.

"Hey," he says gently. "Thanks for listening." He stands up, slinging his bag over his back.

"Bye," Jenny says faintly.

"Bye, Jenny. By the way," he says with a grin. "Nice picture."

Jenny looks down. While she wasn't paying attention to her pencil as Nate talked, clearly her subconscious was. A painstakingly detailed sketch of Nate's profile, scrawled across her geometry problems, stares back at her.

--JN--

Jenny doesn't see Nate again for a few days. She wonders if he is even attending school anymore, because she searches for him from her position at the center of the school's social scene.

Thursday at lunch, Jenny is sitting with Hazel and the girls on the steps as usual. Hazel leans down and turns to Jenny, lowering her voice so only the two of them can hear.

"What do you think about me and Nate?" Hazel asks casually. "I mean, I think he was kind of giving me a look as we walked away on Saturday night and I think it would be good for me to look like I was more legitimate of a leader, you know?"

Jenny nods, stunned into silence.

"And I mean, he's so hot," Hazel continues conspiratorially. "I would be the envy of all the girls at the school if I had him for real." Hazel's expression clearly indicates that she wants a response from Jenny. A positive response.

"Of course," Jenny reassures Hazel. "You two would be a great couple."

Hazel straightens up and smiles, white teeth gleaming. "Good."

For the next fifteen minutes, Jenny says little to the group. On the outside she smiles, but her insides are in turmoil. She can't believe that she will lose Nate to Hazel, of all people.

Suddenly Jenny is jerked out of her trance as Hazel calls out.

"Natie!" Hazel greets Nate loudly and warmly as he walks over with his friends. "How are you?" She flirts.

Nate smiles at her good, but his eyes flick to the girl next to her, Jenny. "I'm good, I'm good."

Nate's eyes invite her to speak. "Hey, Nate," Jenny says shyly, so as to not attract the wrath of Hazel.

"I haven't seen you around lately," Nate says in his rough, sexy voice to Jenny. "Have you been good?"

Jenny keeps her face blank. "Yeah. You?"

"Good," Nate ponders. "But I've been thinking."

"Yeah?" Jenny says.

Hazel's eyes carefully follow the interaction between Jenny and Nate.

"What are you doing tonight?" Nate asks Jenny. "I was wondering if you wanted to study together."

Jenny smiles timidly. "I'd love to."

"Great," Nate confirms. "So I'll see you at my house around, say…seven?"

Jenny nods. She watches Hazel carefully for a reaction, but sees none as Nate walks off.

Hazel and Jenny turn back towards the girls.

"What's going on?" Kati asks eagerly.

"Nate asked Jenny out," Another girl tells them knowledgeably.

All eyes turn towards Hazel. Everybody knew that Hazel had had her eye on Nate for weeks.

"It's just too cute," Hazel smiles without her eyes. "And just too perfect! This way, Blair can't get any fake-power back by screwing her ex, but I don't have to deal with Blair's leftovers."

Jenny sighs.

"It is just perfect," Iz remarks, sharing a conspiratorial glance with Kati. "Just great."

--JN--

_Spotted:_

_H vs. J at lunch over sweet little N._

_The always adorable D and S strolling hand in hand through Central Park eating cotton candy._

_K and I spreading rumors about H after school at Café Angelique._

_Queen B is keeping a low profile, but don't think we aren't still keeping an eye on that one! She was seen walking out of The Palace with C the other night._

_-_-JN--

The first time is awkward.

Jenny arrives at Nate's door at 6:57pm, completely out of breath from racing into the elevator all the way from the taxi, barely sliding in before the doors shut. She had endured accusing glares from the other elevator passengers on the way up, as if they could tell her pink Coach purse was only a knockoff.

They couldn't, could they?

Jenny inhales and exhales slowly, trying to calm herself down. She runs her fingers through her hair and smoothes out her carefully picked out clothes. She wants to look nice for Nate.

Jenny knocks on the door. The maid lets her in and leads her to the main room. Jenny looks around, admiring the antique furniture and oil paintings.

She sees Nate on couch and lifts a hand in greeting. Nate stands to take her books from her and places them on the coffee table.

"That's all, Mariana, thank you," he says dismissively to the maid, who immediately leaves.

Courteously, Nate takes Jenny's hand and leads her to the couch. The touch of his hand sends a tingle through Jenny's body.

They are just starting on their homework, Nate on his history and Jenny still stuck on geometric proofs, when Nate's mother interrupts.

"Nate? Can you do me a favor?" Anne Archibald interjects, poking her head through the door to the main room. She notices Jenny. "Oh! I didn't realize you had a friend over."

Nate quickly introduces Jenny. "This is Jenny Humphrey, mother. She's a friend from school."

Anne nods slowly. "Humphrey, is it? I don't recognize the name. You say she's from school?"

Nate gives his mother a look.

"It's lovely to meet you, Mrs. Archibald," Jenny offers. "You have a beautiful home."

Anne raises her eyebrows. "I suppose it is. Nate, if you could come by when you are done, I need you to respond to some mail you have received." She leaves as abruptly as she enters, the door shutting quietly behind her.

Nate looks apologetically at Jenny. "Sorry about that. She's been a little out of it since…" he pauses. "Well, since my dad…you know."

Jenny's face is puzzled before clearing. "Oh," she remembers. "The…yeah."

Nate exhales. "Jail. It's all right, you can say it." He flashes her a quick smile. "C'mon, let's get back to work."

--JN--

"So what do you do for fun?" Nate asks her the next Thursday night. Jenny hadn't been sure how the first time had gone, but Nate had called her the next Wednesday night and invited her over again for Thursday at seven.

"I don't know," Jenny says, trying to decipher the triangles on the page in front of her. "Hang out with friends, I guess. Go shopping."

"Hang out with Hazel, you mean?" Nate asks quizzically. Jenny knows that Nate thinks that Hazel and the so-called New Cool girls are lame. "I mean, you think that's fun?"

Jenny shrugs, flipping to the back of her math textbook to check her answers. "Well, not really," she says truthfully. "But it's how I met you, isn't it?"

Immediately she regrets her words. It is too forward, too fast. But then she sees his pleased smile. "Good," he says. "So seriously, what do you like to do?"

"I used to like art," Jenny admits. "My mom was, well, is, an artist, and I always painted with her. But ever since she left I kind of stopped."

Nate looks sympathetically at her. "That sucks. I bet you were good."

"I don't know," Jenny says. "I guess it was just fun. Like my family used to do lots of stuff together."

"Like what?" Nate asks curiously. "The only thing my family ever did together was, like, attend operas."

Jenny shrugs again. "Fun stuff. We'd go ice skating in the winter and play touch football and go to my dad's friends' wacky parties. We'd see weird, short films that Vanessa recommended at these tiny indie theaters. Sometimes they'd drag us to the zoo. Stuff like that."

"That's so cool," Nate says enviously. "Hey, what are you doing this Saturday?"

Jenny thinks. "I'm supposed to hang out with the girls, but it's not a big deal. Why?"

"Well, I was thinking," Nate says, "that we should hang out. Go ice skating or something."

"Really?" Jenny blurts out before she can stop herself.

"Really," says Nate, amused.

And before Jenny can say anything else, he leans in to kiss her.

--JN--

The popular clique begs Jenny for details of her ice skating date with Nate while Hazel sulks. Finally, Hazel extricates Jenny from their grasp.

"What is going on?" Hazel hisses to Jenny as soon as they are out of hearing range of everyone by a nearby clump of trees.

"What do you mean?" Jenny stutters nervously.

"I mean with Nate!" Hazel practically shouts. She lowers her voice as some people look over. "What is going on with him?"

"I thought you said it was okay!" Jenny says timidly.

Hazel puts her hand on Jenny's shoulder in what Jenny thinks is supposed to be a comforting manner. "I know I said that Jenny, but I am just worried that things are going too fast. You know what dating a junior will be like. They all expect…you know."

Jenny's eyes widen in slight fear. "Really?"

Hazel nods, the picture of compassion. "Really. I'm just looking out for you, Jenny."

"Maybe I should stop hanging out with him," Jenny muses anxiously.

"No, no," Hazel says reassuringly. "Just take it slow. Don't rush. Okay?"

"Okay," Jenny says, exhaling.

"Don't worry, Little J," Hazel soothes. "I've got your back."

"Aww," Blair Waldorf drawls to her best friend Serena van der Woodsen as they saunter past. "How cute. Look, Serena, I didn't know that the GAP had new line in 'skank.'"

Jenny looks down at her uniform skirt and GAP pink button-up sweater embarrassedly, her cheeks blushing furiously red.

Serena, uncomfortable with the money issue because of Dan, just agrees with a shake of her blonde mane.

"I think it's in just such _poor_ taste to wear a sweater that obscene-her chest would be falling out of it, if she had one," Blair remarks to Serena.

Hazel cannot stifle a chuckle at that and she giggles a bit.

Blair and Serena turn their scathing gazes on Hazel. "Be careful, H. The new big girl in town better be nice to those around her, don't you think?" Serena comments as Hazel begins to get angry.

Blair nods with a smirk. "I mean, it isn't like anybody actually likes her. If Little J hadn't done anything in the first place, Big H would never have gotten anywhere."

Hazel straightens her back and scoffs at Blair. "Who are you to talk about popularity? Who still talks to you these days, anyway?"

Blair sniffs innocently. "Nobody. Nobody at all. Hey, Natie," she simpers as she and Serena walk off arm in arm.

Nate looks cluelessly at Blair's retreating form and then back at Jenny. "Were you guys…talking, or something?"

Jenny smiles ruefully at Nate. "She talked, I listened."

Nate rolls his eyes. "Yeah, Blair can be that way. Hey, you wanna go get some ice cream or something?"

"Sure," Jenny tells him as they walk off, leaving Hazel standing in the dust behind them.

--JN--

_Smackdown_

_As Gossip Girl can exclusively tell you, S and Queen B took on Big H and Little J today. Big H not proving to be a particularly difficult adversary for the Queen of the High School Dramas, B._

_Little J and N getting ice cream from a vendor outside school. Don't they know it's practically freezing outside?_

--JN--

Wednesday night Nate calls Jenny to make plans for Thursday, which is Valentine's Day. Jenny is disappointed when he only invites her over for the now-usual seven o'clock study time at his house. But on Thursday, when she knocks on the door to his apartment, she is surprised to see Nate opening the door. There is no maid or parent in sight as Nate leads her into his apartment.

Jenny gasps as she takes in the beautiful view. A table is set for two and the electric lights are dimmed, the surroundings instead lit by two candles. Nate picks up a bouquet of red roses from the coffee table and hands them to her, his eyes twinkling.

"Surprise," he grins. "Do you like it?"

Jenny can barely form sentences. "Like it? I…I love it. It's amazing."

"You're worth it," he whispers even though Jenny is too distracted by the glamour to listen.

--JN--

Thursday night became their night. Friday nights were reserved for family dinners and after-hours business meetings. Saturday nights were filled with giggly, drunk friends and giggly, drunk hookups. Even Nate and Jenny had succumbed to the craziness of it all and had many a drunken make-out session.

But the night that Jenny loved the most started every Thursday at seven. She had Nate all to herself-no booze, drugs, or flirts in the way. She had Nate as the rest of the world refused to see him: straight-laced and pensive. She loved his little smiles from behind his AP American History textbook, the funny faces he would text her from the other end of the couch while she was reading, the times when she would just curl up in his arms in the old leather armchair.

Jenny had known Nate was beautiful, had always been attracted to him-who hadn't?-but this was different. This?

This was love.

--JN--

_Word on the street has it that N and Little J are getting serious. The two are spotted practically everywhere together._

_What does Queen B think about this?_

_We love her too much to out her on this one, but let's just say we don't think she __**or**__ our boy C__ are spending any lonely nights._

_And how about Big H, as she is affectionately called now thanks to a little creative rumor-passing?_

_We hear she's been a little naughty herself, actually…_

--JN--

Jenny had practically expected Hazel's downfall. Hazel had become desperate for a boyfriend and her reputation had become trashed throughout the school as rumor after rumor spread of her drunken sexual exploits. When Hazel came to lunch one day and the girls moved to surround Jenny, Hazel had been shocked. She is the only one.

--JN--

_Big H has been dethroned, if you__ can even call it that. Little J now rocks our world._

_But has Queen B ever settled and let a __pretty, __little blonde rule the limelight?_

_Come on, you all should know the answer to that._

--JN--

The girls whisper about how Jenny has become the new Blair, complete with Nate Archibald as the Ken Doll boyfriend, but Jenny doesn't care. Any comparison to Blair is a compliment, really.

Jenny hears whispers of Blair rebuilding her social forces. She knows Kati and Iz hate bowing down to a freshman and are gathering supporters for Blair's comeback. The rumors make Jenny more nervous than the reality, though. She only ever sees Blair sitting alone at lunch, or with Serena. She isn't scared.

That is why Jenny is surprised when one day she sits down on the steps of the Met at lunch and it is a bit of déjà-vu from her initial days at Constance; the girls encircle around Blair leaving no space for Jenny.

"Excuse me?" Jenny says incredulously. "What are you guys doing?"

Blair smirked at Jenny from her position at the top. "Little J, what are you doing here?" She says, shaking her head.

Nate catches Jenny's eye from across the courtyard and heads over to protect her. "Blair, leave Jenny alone," he hisses to her, aware of the entire Constance Billiards high school's eyes on them.

Blair smiles serenely. "If you say so, Nate darling," she says sweetly. Serena, lounging next to her on the steps, simply raises her eyebrows.

Chuck Bass passes by the gathering and winks at Blair, leaving the girls surrounding to titter. Blair blows him a kiss.

Jenny looks around desperately at the girls who not long ago were paying allegiance to her.

Blair looks at her meaningfully. "Good-bye, Little J."

Kati and Iz look at Jenny and give her matching stares of disdain.

Nate puts his arm around Jenny and guides her off.

"How…how could that happen?" Jenny asks herself cluelessly.

Nate shrugs. "It's Blair, babe. You knew it was going to happen eventually."

_But that's the problem_, Jenny thought to herself sadly, _I didn't think it would happen to me. I thought I would be popular and rule forever._

Nate smiles at Jenny. "Hey, you still got me. You're not going to get rid of me that quickly," he jokes in an attempt to cheer his girlfriend up."

With a final, longing glance at Blair's court on the steps of the Met Jenny turns back towards Nate. "Yeah. I guess I do." She smiles weakly as they walk off arm in arm.

--JN--

_Surprise!_

_Queen B is back, but no longer is N her consort. We hear C is keeping her__…ahem…__ company now._

_N stuck by Little J and they've been spotted around town doing kitschy little fun activities, as per usual._

_And how about our favorite S?__ After school, S and D were seen arguing about poor Little J.__ Is a breakup forthcoming?_

_Guess Little J has more power than we thought._

_We can't wait to see what will happen next!_

_You know you love me._

_XOXO_

_Gossip Girl_

_ --_JN--

A/N: I know, you're shocked: a Jenny/Nate fic from the world's biggest Chuck/Blair shipper? I hope you gave this fic a try, despite its lack of Chuck/Blair-ness. If you're here, I guess that means you read the fic. I would love to hear what you think! This fic was written for perfervidheart at the Gossip Girl Fic Exchange that I mod over at livejournal--no, I don't usually choose to write non-CB Gossip Girl fics :) For those of you waiting for CB updates, I am currently writing fast and furious on my TTO chapters and this time I plan to write a whole bunch of chapters at once so I don't have to wait so long for inspiration to strike. After that, the sequel to Blair Waldorf Strikes Back will be forthcoming.

Please review!


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